“When have I ever pressured you about the rent?”

“You haven’t, but I feel so guilty…”

“What about your friend who’s staying with you? Has she found a proper job yet?”

“Muriel is still job hunting. Please don’t be too hard on her.”

“That acting nonsense. She’s got her head full of empty dreams. Your friend lacks both the brains and reflexes for acting. I heard she couldn’t even memorize one line of dialogue, got scolded by the director, and was immediately cut from the role. Tell her to live responsibly now. Pay rent and take care of herself.”

Melinda was generous only to Jacqueline, but she was not a philanthropist. Her principle was that people should earn their own living, which was why she thoroughly disliked the freeloader staying in Jacqueline’s place.

Wasteful spending beyond one’s means, lack of realistic perspective, pretentious personality – there wasn’t a single redeeming quality. In many ways, this person embodied everything Melinda despised.

But Jacqueline defended her friend to the end.

“Nobody knows her better than I do. You might find things about her disagreeable. But her good qualities outweigh her flaws. She’s just short on resources right now. If she had more, she’d give even more generously than I do.”

“She’s like that because you’re too soft on her! Actually, you’re the main problem! And how long are you going to look after that wretched Hennessy family?”

Melinda knew immediately when she first saw Jacqueline.

‘This child resembles my younger self.’

That’s why she disliked her. When she looked at Jacqueline, the Gabriella she had kept deeply buried would suddenly emerge. Melinda despised Gabriella’s weakness. 

If Jacqueline continued to be pushed around, she would eventually end up like her. Jacqueline was Melinda’s past. But Melinda was a future that Jacqueline might or might not become.

So Melinda wished that Jacqueline wouldn’t give away everything she had to help others. Recent events proved this point. 

When she went to collect her unpaid wages, she returned with the boss’s wife and children who had been abandoned. She offered money, asking Melinda to find them temporary accommodation, but Melinda couldn’t accept it knowing the money was Jacqueline’s future.

In the end, with a charitable mindset, she guided them to a decent enough house. There was a townhouse that would have satisfied the formerly lavish Hennessy family, but for some reason, she didn’t want to give them that one. 

People always want more when treated too well. Melinda still trusted no one except Jacqueline.

“Seems you have room to worry about the boss’s wife and children who ran away, but not about your own urgent problems. Tsk, tsk.”

“They looked so pitiful… The children are innocent, after all.”

“That boss of yours. He’ll eventually be abandoned by his mistress.”

“I think so too.”

“Come to think of it, you knew his mistress quite well, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. Moira Thompson. She’s from Polatina village, and Moira Thompson is just an alias. Her real name is Misha Airy.”

Melinda was surprised.

“You even know that?”

“I wrote letters for her once.”

“So she knew you were the nanny and still carried on with the boss? Quite brazen.”

“Misha knew I cared for the children and used that against me. She manipulated Mr. Hennessy into mistreating Mrs. Hennessy and the children. Misha knew I wouldn’t tell the truth if she did that.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. She’s the one who exploited your feelings, and that filthy Mr. Hennessy who played around with her is the criminal. You did nothing wrong. You were just scared.”

“You’re right. I was scared. Misha has a younger sister with a cleft lip. Her name is Sonya, and she believes her sister earns a lot of money in the capital. She believes Misha will eventually pay for surgery to fix her lip.”

“So you kept quiet because you were afraid Misha might get hurt?”

“That’s part of it, but I also hoped Misha would stop on her own.”

“How naive.”

“Yes, I was naive.”

“And because of that small guilt, you’re taking responsibility for the Hennessy family?”

“No. The Hennessy family’s problems will be resolved soon.”

“How?”

“When Misha faces the truth.”

“Oh?”

What was this about?

With the sudden twist in the conversation, Melinda’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Misha sent all her money to her sister except for minimal living expenses. When she sent money, a reply would come within a week. Sonya wrote that she bought Schneevalen with the money her sister sent. She wrote that she wanted to eat them often and asked if her allowance could be increased.”

“Tsk, tsk, how immature. When receiving becomes a habit, gratitude disappears. Well, not surprising.”

“But doesn’t the Schneevalen seem strange?”

“Why?”

“Do you think a child with a split lip and palate could eat such hard cookies? I was suspicious from the beginning. It doesn’t make sense that a child who lived isolated in the countryside would be fluent in reading and writing the common language, especially when Misha herself is illiterate.”

“Maybe there’s someone writing for her, like you did? The village head perhaps?”

“Someone definitely wrote for her, but they seemed unaware of Sonya’s gender. When Misha told me her sibling had a cleft lip, I naturally assumed it was a boy. Cleft lip conditions statistically appear more often in males. So the letter should have referred to Misha as ‘older sister’ in the male form. When I asked Misha about it, she said in the countryside, both terms for ‘older sister’ mean the same thing. It was suspicious, but I let it go at the time.”

“That must have been around when she started the affair with the boss.”

“I told Misha to end the affair immediately. Not to do something she would regret. I said if she needed money for her sister’s surgery, I would speak to Mrs. Hennessy to arrange it. But she completely ignored me. She must have told Mr. Hennessy something, because the next day I received a termination notice from his secretary. I was told never to approach Mrs. Hennessy and the children again, or they would sue me.”

“You did well. Don’t worry too much. When you threatened to tell the truth, she showed her true colors, right? That’s who she really was all along. So, was this what you were whispering about with Michael the other day?”

Michael was Melinda’s legal counsel. He had established a law firm in the legitimate world two years ago, but true to his roots, he was a criminal defense attorney who found more enjoyment in shadowy dealings.

“That leech, I wish he would stop coming around.”

“But I like it when Uncle Michael visits.”

“Uncle?”

‘That quick-handed opportunist!’

Melinda felt her insides twist. That man wasn’t content with meddling in her affairs at every turn, now he was trying to steal the bonfire she had discovered to warm himself by it. Melinda was merciless even to men who courted her.

“Seeing how confident you are, I suppose Michael must have found something out.”

“Sonya’s real name was Sonian Airy. It turns out Sonya believed her sister had abandoned her. For three whole years.”

Three years ago, there was an uproar in the village when reports came in about rebels. To root them out, all mail was opened, and that’s when an employee screening the letters discovered Misha’s letter and check. Though it was against regulations, he secretly pocketed the letter.

The culprit initially denied the allegations but finally confessed when presented with evidence. 

He admitted that seeing the nicknames Misha and Sonya, he assumed the two were sisters and fabricated his story accordingly.

Hearing the full story, Melinda nodded in understanding.

“Yes, it would be impossible to receive replies so quickly. Not unless they were sent directly from the postal office.”

“The culprit was a postal worker. He would have written and sent the reply immediately after extorting the money. He would have known exactly when the mail coach arrived. Uncle Michael explained everything to me.”

Melinda had to admit that Michael had paid attention to Jacqueline’s situation despite his busy schedule.

“I see.”

“I went straight to the police station and provided Moira Thompson’s real name, hometown, and the address from the letters. She probably converted the embezzled money into high-value checks, planning to cash them before crossing the border. So I also sent telegrams to the main bank Mr. Hennessy uses. Do you think this will be enough atonement for Mrs. Hennessy and the children?”

Although it was due to Misha’s blackmail, Jacqueline still felt guilty about not revealing Misha’s identity to Mrs. Hennessy and how Misha had encouraged Mr. Hennessy to make their lives difficult.

“You’ve done more than just nanny work for those people. You found them a home, dealt with their family abuser, and solved their embezzlement problem. It would be shameless to expect more.”

“I just wanted to repay some of the kindness Mrs. Hennessy showed me… I understand, Melinda.”

Seeing Melinda about to lecture her again, Jacqueline quickly changed her approach. Pleasing Melinda wasn’t difficult. She generally liked diligent and docile people.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I’ve done some good.”

“I should go in now. It gets chilly after sunset, so you should head home before then too.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Jacqueline massaged Melinda’s shoulders and went inside the communal housing.

The first floor was Melinda’s office. Mrs. Mueller had lived on the second floor, but it had been vacant since she passed away last year. 

Anette lived on the third floor with her companion dog, Theo. Recently, Anette rarely came home because she was preparing for a competition, so Theo often guarded the house alone. 

Jacqueline took care of Theo on behalf of the busy Anette.

But today, she ignored Theo’s barking requests to open the door.